Syrian army, backed by jets, launches assault on Homs

By Dominic Evans

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces launched a major offensive on Saturday against rebels in Homs, a centre of the two-year-old uprising, in their latest drive to secure an axis connecting Damascus to the Mediterranean.

Activists said jets and mortars had pounded rebel-held areas of the city that have been under siege by Assad's troops for a year, and soldiers fought battles with rebel fighters in several districts.

"Government forces are trying to storm (Homs) from all fronts," said an activist using the name Abu Mohammad.

There were no immediate details of casualties but video footage uploaded by activists showed heavy explosions and white clouds of smoke rising from what they said were rebel districts. Loud, concentrated rounds of gunfire could also be heard.

One clip showed thick black smoke rising from a mosque identified as the 13th-century Khalid ibn al-Walid mosque, on the edge of the Khalidiyah neighborhood.

Syrian state media said the army was "achieving great progress" in Khalidiyah but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an anti-Assad monitoring group, said there were reports that rebels had destroyed an army tank as troops tried to penetrate the Old City in the centre of Homs.

The attack on Homs follows steady military gains by Assad's forces, backed by Lebanese Hezbollah militants, in villages in Homs province and towns close to the Lebanese border.

Three weeks ago Hezbollah spearheaded Assad's recapture of the border town of Qusair, a former rebel bridgehead for smuggling in guns and fighters. Last week the rebels lost another border town, Tel Kalakh.

Those gains have consolidated Assad's control over a corridor of territory that runs from the capital Damascus through Homs to the traditional heartland of his minority Alawite sect in the mountains overlooking the Mediterranean.

They have also alarmed international supporters of the rebels, leading the United States to announce that it will step up military support. Saudi Arabia has accelerated deliveries of sophisticated weaponry, Gulf sources say.

DERAA VICTORY

The interventions by Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, a staunch backer of the mainly Sunni rebels, and Shi'ite Hezbollah highlight how the 27-month-old uprising has divided the Middle East along sectarian lines.

Gulf Arab States, Turkey and Egypt all support the rebels while Shi'ite Iran and Hezbollah are actively helping Assad whose Alawite community - an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam - has dominated Syria for more than four decades.

Sunni Islamist fighters from countries across the Middle East have also flocked to Syria, fighting for the rebels in a war that has killed more than 100,000 people, driven 1.7 million refugees abroad and displaced another 4 million within Syria's borders.

Hopes of holding a U.S. and Russian-backed peace conference have faded, with rebels reluctant to negotiate while they are on the defensive militarily and tensions between Moscow and Washington exacerbating their deep differences over Syria.

The violence has spilled over frontiers and stirred sectarian violence in neighboring Iraq and Lebanon. Two people were killed in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli on Saturday, one in an explosion and another in sniper fire between the Alawite district of Jebel Mohsen and adjacent Sunni areas.

Despite losing ground around Damascus and Homs, rebels registered a symbolic victory on Friday when they overran a major military checkpoint in Deraa, the southern city where the uprising first erupted.

Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory, said the fall of the army post was strategically significant and could change the balance of power in Deraa, where rebels control most of the old city.

The province of Deraa, on the border with Jordan, has been a conduit for arms supplies to the rebels.

(Editing by Janet Lawrence and Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-army-backed-jets-launch-homs-assault-122641886.html

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Egypt: 4 killed in clashes with Islamists

CAIRO (AP) ? Security officials say suspected Islamists have killed three protesters in the southern city of Assiut, taking to four the number of people killed on a day of massive protests demanding the ouster of Egypt's president.

The officials said Islamists on a motorbike opened fire on protesters outside the local government building in Assiut, killing one and wounding seven. Enraged by the killing, protesters marched to the office of the Freedom and Justice party, political arm of President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Gunmen inside the building opened fire, killing at least two, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

A protester in Beni Suef was killed earlier outside the local headquarters of the Freedom and Justice party.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-4-killed-clashes-islamists-212644881.html

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Analysis: Snowden's options appear to narrow in bid to evade U.S. arrest

By Matt Spetalnick and Lidia Kelly

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Nearly a month after Edward Snowden exposed top secret U.S. surveillance programs, the former spy agency contractor looks no closer to winning asylum to evade prosecution at home - and his options appear to be narrowing.

Stuck in legal limbo in a Moscow airport transit area and facing uncertainty over whether any of the destinations he is said to be contemplating - Ecuador, Venezuela and Cuba - will let him in, Snowden seems to be at the mercy of geopolitical forces beyond his control.

Unseen in public since arriving in Moscow last weekend, much remains unclear about Snowden's overtures to various countries and how they have responded behind the scenes.

Russia may no longer have sufficient reason to continue harboring Snowden if, as is widely believed, its intelligence services have already questioned him about the classified documents that he has admitted to taking from the National Security Agency.

The leftist government of Ecuador, already sheltering WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at its London embassy, is reviewing Snowden's asylum request, though officials have sent mixed signals, suggesting the process could drag on for weeks.

Venezuela's new president, Nicolas Maduro, has spoken favorably of granting refuge to Snowden but has taken no action, and he may think twice about risking a setback in tentative steps toward post-Chavez rapprochement with Washington.

And even if Ecuador or Venezuela decide to take Snowden, there is no guarantee that communist Cuba, the likely transit point for any flight from Moscow to those South American countries, would let him pass through and further complicate its own thorny relations with the United States.

Adding to Snowden's troubles, the Obama administration, embarrassed by his disclosures on U.S. surveillance programs and his ability to dodge extradition when he fled Hong Kong last Sunday, is bringing heavy pressure to bear on any country that might consider accepting him, diplomats say.

"Thus far, he has chosen his destinations carefully," said Carl Meacham, a foreign policy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "His time, even in those countries, however, may be running out."

Another potential complication is the role of anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, whose alliance with Snowden further politicizes his case. British legal researcher Sarah Harrison, a top WikiLeaks lieutenant and Assange confidante, escorted Snowden on the flight from Hong Kong to Moscow and is believed to have remained with him.

FOCUS ON RUSSIA

Russia remains the chief focus of the diplomatic scramble, and while President Vladimir Putin has clearly delighted in the chance to tweak Washington, there are questions whether he wants a prolonged saga that threatens deeper damage to already-chilly U.S.-Russia relations.

The former NSA contractor's trek took him to Moscow because he had little choice of any other route that would keep him relatively safe from his American pursuers, former Russian intelligence officers and political and security analysts said.

"He has almost nowhere to go. He does not have much of a choice," said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the journal Russia in Global Affairs and a member of an influential foreign policy council.

"Considering that he came out with a serious statement that is seen by the United States as treasonous, he needs to lay out an itinerary through countries where he can feel more or less certain that he will not be handed over."

Despite Putin's insistence that Russian intelligence agencies had not been "working with" Snowden, a Russian security service source said they would certainly have interviewed him.

U.S. authorities are already operating on a "worst case" assumption that all of the classified material in Snowden's possession has made its way to one or more adversary intelligence services, U.S. national security sources said.

While top U.S. officials have warned of serious damage to national security interests from Snowden's leaks, Lukyanov suggested that in intelligence terms he was probably not a very valuable prize. "He is not some kind of special agent," he said.

Putin has built his return to the presidency on strident nationalism. If he hands Snowden back to the United States, he could face a backlash from Russians who see the American as a whistle-blowing hero.

"No matter what, we should not give him back. Let him go somewhere, or even stay in Russia - we are a big country and we have room for him as well as (French actor Gerard) Depardieu," said Viktor, a pensioner who was at Sheremetyevo airport on Friday for a vacation flight to Ukraine.

CONFUSION OVER ECUADOR

However, Snowden's protracted stay at the Moscow airport may have more to do with his problems reaching a deal with Ecuador than with any Russian desire to keep the American fugitive from moving on, the Russian security source said.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has inserted his small Andean nation into the saga by offering asylum to Snowden, whom he has praised for exposing U.S. espionage efforts. However, he may also be trying to fill the void left by the death of Venezuelan socialist President Hugo Chavez - for a decade Washington's most vocal adversary in the region.

While Ecuador seems like Snowden's best bet as a place of refuge, its intentions are unclear.

Assange said earlier that Ecuadorean diplomats in London had issued a temporary travel document intended for Snowden, whose U.S. passport had been revoked. But the Quito government denied this.

In the meantime, Correa has said Ecuador cannot move forward with the asylum request until Snowden is in the country or makes his way to one of its embassies. Correa has indicated he is not planning to arrange transit for Snowden.

Returning to Quito on Friday from a tour of Asia, Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his government had been involved in talks with the Russian government about Snowden's fate, but without any result.

For now, Venezuela also was not looking promising for Snowden. Maduro has made clear several times that he would take a positive view of an asylum request, though he said on Thursday that "no one has asked us for humanitarian refuge."

Since taking office in April, Maduro has at times used thunderous, Chavez-style, anti-U.S. rhetoric but he has also expressed interest in better relations with Washington.

Without help from a sympathetic government, Snowden's ability to travel is limited. The increasingly grim predicament may explain why his father on Friday said he is reasonably confident the 30-year-old Snowden would return if certain conditions were met.

Those conditions include not detaining Snowden before trial, not subjecting him to a gag order and letting him choose the location of his trial, according to a letter that Lonnie Snowden's lawyer, Bruce Fein, sent to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

(Additional reporting by Steve Gutterman and Alexei Anishchuk in Moscow, Jeff Franks in Havana, Brian Ellsworth in Quito, and Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Alistair Bell, Tiffany Wu and Eric Beech)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-snowdens-options-appear-narrow-bid-evade-u-021130399.html

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Deal of the Day: Midwest Community Credit Union CD Rates at 0.75% APY

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With fixed rates, a minimum deposit of $1,000 begins accruing 0.50% interest for a full 2-year term, which compounds dividends until the certificate reaches maturity. Depositors can count on the full faith and backing of the federal government to protect their investment; all deposits with MCCU are insured up to $250,000 by the National Credit Union Administration.

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Source: http://www.gobankingrates.com/cd-rates/midwest-community-credit-union-0-75/

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Rolling Stones aim to give crowd satisfaction at Glastonbury

By Belinda Goldsmith

PILTON, England (Reuters) - It might only be rock'n'roll but, 50 years on, Mick Jagger still likes it - and insists he will keep going as long as fans want to see the Rolling Stones, set to headline the Glastonbury festival on Saturday.

Jagger, who turns 70 next month, said the once-controversial band still had comment to make on what was going on in the world, even if its voice seemed tamer than it once did.

He said the Rolling Stones actually never set out to make waves in the 1960s, when their drug use, love tangles and rebellious stage attitude shocked audiences and the band was blamed for fuelling social unrest and falling moral standards.

"We just set out to be a blues band and just behaved as we always had and like kids always behave," Jagger told BBC's Radio 4 Today show on Saturday, ahead of the Stones' debut performance at Glastonbury.

"We were sort of sidetracked into this social thing by the mood of the times and of the times themselves, which were galloping on," he said.

"The last song that I wrote, that I put out, called 'Doom and Gloom' is actually mostly social comment. It's very tongue-in-cheek social comment but it's still social comment," he said.

The Rolling Stones's appearance at Glastonbury, the world's largest greenfield music festival, comes as the band celebrates 50 years in the music business, which involved a North American tour this year and some sell-out dates in the UK this summer.

Festival founder Michael Eavis, who started Glastonbury as a gathering of about 1,500 hippies on his farm in 1970, has publicly delighted in finally persuading the band to play the festival that now attracts 135,000 fans or more.

As the headline act on Saturday, the Rolling Stones will top a day that also includes performances by Billy Bragg, Elvis Costello, Primal Scream and Noah and the Whale.

Glastonbury is known for megastars but also for variety, with 2,000 acts on 58 stages over the three days.

Some of the more surprising acts this year include U.S. country music star Kenny Rogers, octogenarian British TV presenter Bruce Forsyth and a group of chanting Tibetan monks.

In the lead-up to the festival, Jagger tweeted that he would be staying in a yurt, a Mongolian-style tent, at Glastonbury, where a working farm turns into a tent city for five days, but his location remained a secret ahead of the band's performance.

Asked if his hyperactive stage performance tired him now that he is knocking 70, Jagger admitted, "occasionally", but said he had no plans to quit and would go on as long as people wanted.

But while still enjoying his career, Jagger said he had wondered in the past about doing something else, such as dancing, being a teacher or even a journalist.

"I don't feel frustrated ... but obviously, you would have liked to have done, everyone wants to have done, more things in their lives," Jagger said.

"But it's a slightly intellectually undemanding thing to do, being a rock singer but, you know, you make the best of it."

(Additional reporting by Isla Binnie; editing by Andrew Roche)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rolling-stones-aim-crowd-satisfaction-glastonbury-001312140.html

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The World's Fastest Ship Is Basically an Aquatic Concorde Jet

This is no lumbering Staten Island Ferry. This is the Francisco, a wave-piercing catamaran loaded with modified jet engines set to blast commuters across the River Plate at 58 knots, faster than any other ship in the world.

Australia?s Incat shipyard built the 1516 ton-displacement Francisco, named after Pope Francis, on behalf of the Buquebus company, which plans to operate it crossing the 140 miles Rio de la Plata estuary between Buenos Aires, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay.

The ship's hull is crafted from "Two slender, aluminum hulls connected by a bridging section with centre bow structure at the forward end." The Incat website states, "Each hull is divided into nine vented, watertight compartments divided by transverse bulkheads. Two compartments in each hull are prepared as fuel tanks with an additional compartment prepared as a long range tank." It is powered by a pair of 59,000 HP GE LM2500 gas turbines, derived from those used aboard 747s to run on liquid natural gas (it uses either marine distillate to get the engines started and as an emergency fuel). These power plants run through a 7:1 gearbox that drives two Wartsila LJX 1720 SR waterjets, propelling the ship up to 67 MPH.

?This is certainly the fastest ship in the world,? said Incat managing director Kim Clifford. ?Of course there?s a few speed boats that could surpass 58 knots, but nothing that could carry 1,000 passengers and 150 cars, and with an enormous duty-free shop on board.?

The Francisco beat out another Incat design to take the record, 1996's 53.8 knot Juan Patricio. It too is part of the Buquebus fleet and is still in service. Water taxis everywhere, take note!

[Incat - GE - Top Image: Kim Clifford / Incat, Interior Image: Eric Graudins]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-worlds-fastest-boat-is-basically-an-aquatic-concor-572876759

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Global Warming Worsened Australia's Record Hot Summer

Human-caused global warming played a role in making this past summer Australia's hottest on record, a new study suggests.

The summer of 2012-2013 probably won't retain its title for long; researchers say record-breaking scorching summers are five times more likely to occur now in Australia due to climate change.

"Our research has shown that, due to greenhouse gas emissions, these types of extreme summers will become even more frequent and more severe in the future," study author Sophie Lewis of the University of Melbourne said in a statement.

Australia's summer occurs from December to February, during the Northern Hemisphere's winter. In those three months between 2012 and 2013, the country's average temperature was 83.5 degrees Fahrenheit (28.6 degrees Celsius), 2 degrees F (1 degree C) above normal, according to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology. It broke the previous summer temperature record, set in the 1997-1998 season, by 0.18 degree F (0.1 degree C).

Unusually high temperatures gripped nearly the entire country, with just three percent of Australia experiencing below-normal temperatures. Bush fires and flooding, combined with the extreme heat, prompted Australians to call it the "angry summer."

Lewis and colleagues looked at climate observations and more than 90 climate model simulations of summer temperatures in Australia over the past 100 years. They found that human influences likely stoked the record heat during a summer when Australians may have otherwise expected cooler temperatures.

"This extreme summer is not only remarkable for its record-breaking nature but also because it occurred at a time of weak La Ni?a to neutral conditions, which generally produce cooler summers," Karoly said. "Importantly, our research shows the natural variability of El Ni?o Southern Oscillation is unlikely to explain the recent record temperatures." The El Ni?o Southern Oscillation is a climate cycle that can impact weather and cliamte systems around the globe; it's El Ni?o phases features warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, while the La Ni?a phase features cooler-than-normal temperatures.

Climate describes weather that occurs over long periods, such as decades, centuries or millennia, and scientists are typically quick to point out that no individual storm, heat wave or unusual season can be directly blamed on climate change. But researchers have said that global warming can make some events, on average, more severe and more frequent than they would have been in the past.

The research has been accepted for publication in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/global-warming-worsened-australias-record-hot-summer-164112332.html

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Homeless mom gets 9-18 years in twins' starvation

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? A mother of six whose infant son starved to death at a homeless shelter was sentenced Friday to nine to 18 years in prison.

A jury previously convicted 34-year-old Tanya Williams of involuntary manslaughter in 2-month-old Quasir Alexander's death, which occurred just before Christmas 2010. Quasir's twin nearly died. Williams was also convicted of aggravated assault of the surviving twin.

In court Friday, she expressed remorse for Quasir's death and said she hopes to be reunited someday with her five surviving children.

Defense lawyer Gregory Pagano said there was plenty of blame to go around, given that a caseworker saw Quasir 36 hours before he died.

Prosecutors did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Williams was the only person charged in the case, although two Lutheran Children and Family Service workers lost their jobs.

A Philadelphia hospital had released the low-weight twins to live with Williams and her four older children at the West Philadelphia homeless shelter.

Pagano also argued at trial that his client has an IQ of 65.

"She never intended for this to happen," he said Friday. "It's unfortunate that she's carrying the full brunt of it."

A city-funded caseworker had seen the 2-month-old boys 36 hours earlier and deemed them healthy. The caseworker also released Williams from a voluntary parenting class. The now-fired caseworker never saw the twins unclothed, her boss at Lutheran Children and Family Service testified.

The caseworker invoked her constitutional right not to testify when called by the defense.

Executive Director Richard Gitlen issued a statement after the verdict calling the infant's death "a horrible tragedy."

"Through the years we have dedicated ourselves to tens of thousands of children," he said. "It is that commitment that compels us to learn from this loss so that we may continue to serve children and families."

Assistant District Attorney Peter Lim told jurors that Williams failed to take advantage of help offered by caseworker, a shelter worker and the visiting nurse.

Williams' case files suggest that she repeatedly made appointments to take her children for vaccines or checkups or to apply for food stamps or other programs but rarely followed through.

The twins were born at a hospital on Oct. 21 and 22 and were released on Oct. 25. Their mother had not had any prenatal visits and did not know she was carrying twins.

Williams had become homeless in September after arguments with her mother and a church friend who later took her in.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/homeless-mom-gets-9-18-years-twins-starvation-152233659.html

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CSN: Dominant Lackey leads Red Sox past Rox

BOSTON - At nearly the halfway point in the 2013 season, it would seem that John Lackey has emerged -- for now, at least -- as the Red Sox' most reliable starter.
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With Clay Buchholz sidelined indefinitely and Jon Lester having won just once in his past seven starts, the Sox need someone to step forward and Lackey has responded.
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On Wednesday, he gave the Red Sox seven strong innings, allowing just two runs on eight hits while tying a career-high in strikeouts with 12. He didn't walk a single batter as the Red Sox beat the Colorado Rockies 5-3 at Fenway Park.
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Lackey's record sits at just 5-5, but that's a function of some tough luck. His ERA is a 2.98, lowest of any Boston starter other than Buchholz.
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The Sox provided Lackey with some quick support in the first when Shane Victorino (single), David Ortiz (double) and Daniel Nava (single) offered run-scoring hits.
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In the third inning, Mike Napoli blooped an RBI single into right and Nava delivered a sacrifice fly.
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Lackey was touched for a run in the first and another in the sixth when Michael Cuddyer homered into the Monster Seats. A second Cuddyer? homer -- in almost the same location, off Junichi Tazawa -- closed out the scoring for the Rockies.
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Meanwhile, five days after he was named as the team's new starter, Koji Uehara took care of the ninth, notching his second save of the season.
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The Sox have won six of their past seven games at Fenway Park and 12 of their past 15.

STAR OF THE GAME: John Lackey
Lackey turned in his best start of the season -- and one of the best of his Red Sox's career -- with seven innings of two-run ball.? Lackey also became the first Red Sox starter in 10 years to strike out 12 hitters and not issue a single walk.
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HONORABLE MENTION: Shane Victorino
Showing no ill affects from another run-in with an outfield wall, Victorino led the Sox with three hits. He also scored two and knocked in another.

GOAT OF THE GAME: Roy Oswalt??? ?
Oswalt pitched better after the first inning, but he allowed three runs in the first and two more in the third to hand the Red Sox a 5-1 lead.

TURNING POINT: In the sixth inning, after the first homer by Michael? Cuddyer, a double by Wilin Rosario anbd a one-out single by Nolan Arenado, the Rockies had the potential tying run at the plate with just one out. But Lackey fanned Tyler Colvin and got Yorvit Torrealba to fly out to
end the threat.

BY THE NUMBERS: Jose Iglesias was 0-for-4 and saw his streak of reaching base in 27 consecutive games come to an end. It had been the longest for a Red Sox rookie since Trot Nixon in 1999.

QUOTE OF NOTE: "The Tommy John surgery, the rehab, the reshaping of the body -- it's almost like we're looking at a different guy.'' -Red Sox manager John Farrell on John Lackey.

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Source: http://www.csnne.com/blog/red-sox-talk/lackey-strikes-out-12-sox-beat-rockies-5-3

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Obama heads to South Africa with Mandela on his mind

By Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal

DAKAR (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama heads to South Africa on Friday hoping to see ailing icon Nelson Mandela, after wrapping up a visit to Senegal that focused on improving food security and promoting democratic institutions.

Obama is in the middle of a three-country tour of Africa that the White House hopes will compensate for what some view as years of neglect by the administration of America's first black president.

Before departing Dakar, Obama was scheduled to meet with farmers and local entrepreneurs to discuss new technologies that are helping farmers and their families in West Africa, one of the world's poorest and most drought-prone regions.

But it was Mandela, the 94-year-old former South African president who is clinging to life in a Pretoria hospital, who will dominate the president's day even before he arrives in Johannesburg.

Asked on Thursday whether Obama would be able to pay Mandela a visit, the White House said that was up to the family.

"We are going to completely defer to the wishes of the Mandela family and work with the South African government as relates to our visit," deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters in Senegal.

"Whatever the Mandela family deems appropriate, that's what we're focused on doing in terms of our interaction with them."

Obama sees Mandela, also known as Madiba, as a hero. Whether they are able to meet or not, officials said his trip would serve largely as a tribute to the anti-apartheid leader.

"I've had the privilege of meeting Madiba and speaking to him. And he's a personal hero, but I don't think I'm unique in that regard," Obama said on Thursday. "If and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we'll all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages."

The president arrives in South Africa Friday evening and has no public events scheduled. He could go to the hospital then.

Obama is scheduled to visit Robben Island, where Mandela spent years in prison, later during his trip.

On Friday morning, Obama will take part in a "Feed the Future" event on food security. That issue, along with anti-corruption measures and trade opportunities for U.S. companies, are topics the White House wants to highlight on Obama's tour.

Obama, who has been in office since 2009, has only visited Africa once in his presidential tenure: a short trip to Ghana at the beginning of his first term.

While acknowledging that Obama has not spent as much time in Africa as people hoped, the administration is eager to highlight what it has done, in part to end unflattering comparisons to accomplishments of predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Food security and public aid are two of the issues the Obama team believes are success stories.

"Africa has seen a steady and consistent increase in our overall resource investment each year that we've been in office," said Raj Shah, head of USAID. "And sustaining that in this political climate has required real trade-offs to be made in other areas, but we've done that."

(Editing by Daniel Flynn and Stacey Joyce)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-heads-south-africa-mandela-mind-020643222.html

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SKorean president in Beijing for summit with Xi

BEIJING (AP) ? The Chinese and South Korean presidents called Thursday for a swift resumption of six-nation North Korean nuclear disarmament talks after a summit that brought together Pyongyang's archrival and its biggest ally.

President Park Geun-hye four-day visit marks her first formal discussions with the new Chinese administration led by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. Talks will also focus on booming economic ties between the two, highlighted by the unusually large, high-powered trade delegation traveling with Park.

The meetings are seen as piling further pressure on the North to rejoin the talks, and Xi said improving conditions on the peninsula boded well for new discussions.

"We hope all sides can seize this opportunity to work to return to the six-party talks as soon as possible," Xi told reporters after his talks with Park at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of the legislature in the heart of Beijing.

Park said the sides agreed on the need to prevent North Korea having nuclear weapons "under any circumstances" and to "preserve the peace and stability of Korean Peninsula."

The two also witnessed the signing of agreements on energy cooperation, trade and other areas.

Park, a self-taught Mandarin speaker, has said she is keen to enlist China's leaders in the drive for new North Korean denuclearization discussions that would also include the U.S., Russia, and Japan.

The China-hosted talks with Pyongyang have been stalled since 2009 over the question of how to verify that North Korea is fulfilling its commitments to dismantle its nuclear facilities.

Park was scheduled to meet Li on Friday.

The calls for new talks follow China's frustration with its neighbor and longstanding communist ally for having ramped up tensions with last year's long-range missile launch and February's third nuclear weapon test.

Beijing showed its displeasure by supporting tightened U.N. sanctions and cracking down on North Korean banking activity.

While China is North Korea's biggest source of diplomatic and economic support, China's trade and other interactions with the South are far larger and more diverse. Ordinary Chinese are also big fans of South Korean pop culture and high-tech wares, and there is a growing sentiment among urban intellectuals that China should not sacrifice international credibility for the sake of coddling Pyongyang.

Despite the pressure to rejoin talks, Kim Jong Un's mercurial North Korean regime appears to remain wary.

Park has said that any resumption of talks must be preceded by signs that the North is serious about following through on its disarmament commitments, echoing the position of the U.S. Washington does not want to be drawn into talks that serve only to relieve pressure on Pyongyang, provide it a platform to seek much-needed aid, and buy it more time to further its nuclear weapons program.

Yet, after top North Korean negotiator Kim Kye Gwan visited Beijing earlier this month for talks, Chinese analysts said Pyongyang seemed more interested in improving its damaged ties with China than in swiftly moving toward new six-nation talks.

While Beijing has remained neutral over recent developments, Chinese scholars say Xi's government will seek an intermediary role to create conditions for a restoration of talks. They warn, however, that Beijing would oppose harsher sanctions or other measures that could spark a backlash from Pyongyang or further destabilize the regime of the young and inexperienced Kim, who took over following his father's death 18 months ago.

"It's very hard to say whether the meeting will produce any new proposals, but, following the third nuclear test, I think China and every other country involved realizes the seriousness of the need to get North Korea back into talks," said Zhang Liangui, a researcher with the ruling Communist Party's main research and training institute in Beijing.

Park's visit should also help smooth over strains in ties between China and South Korea over China's refusal to criticize Pyongyang following the sinking of a South Korean navy ship in early 2010 and shelling of one of its islands by a North Korean artillery unit later that year.

Park's appreciation for Chinese culture should also help foster positive relations. The Beijing stage of her trip, which includes meetings with business groups and a speech to university students, is to be followed by a stop at the ancient capital of Xi'an, a cultural hub that is a favorite destination for South Korean investors.

Park is traveling with a record 71-strong business delegation, highlighting the close economic ties that have lifted China above the U.S. as South Korea's top trading partner. Two-way trade hit $215 billion last year, with South Korea's exports of semiconductors, mobile phones, cars and industrial products giving it a trade surplus of more than $50 billion.

Business delegates include leaders of South Korean industry, including the chairmen of Hyundai Motor Group and LG Group.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/skorean-president-beijing-summit-xi-045156659.html

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Gatwick profit edges up on new routes to China, Russia

LONDON (Reuters) - London's Gatwick Airport posted a 2.5 percent rise in full year profit on Tuesday, helped by the addition of new routes to countries such as China and Russia and moderate traffic growth.

The British capital's second largest airport said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 2.5 percent to 227.1 million pounds for the year to the end of March. Revenues increased by 4.2 percent to 538.9 million pounds.

Gatwick, owned by Global Infrastructure Partners - an investment fund founded by Credit Suisse and General Electric - said overall it made a loss of 29.1 million pounds, due to the asset-intensive nature of its business and continued investment made across the airport.

The company invested 226.7 million pounds as part of plans to invest 1 billion pounds over the next five years in a bid to grow to 37 million passengers by 2020. Passenger traffic rose modestly by 1.2 percent to 34.2 million.

"Although economic headwinds have remained strong, Gatwick has delivered stable financial results in line with expectations," said Chief Executive Stewart Wingate.

"It has also been a positive year for welcoming new airlines to Gatwick and attracting new links to key growth markets including China, Russia, Indonesia and Turkey, adding to existing routes which have been expanded such as our services to Vietnam," he said.

Gatwick, which mainly operates as a point-to-point airport unlike rival Heathrow airport that tends to function as a hub for transfer passengers, has begun detailed work on the options for a new runway although a long-standing local agreement that runs to 2019 disallows it from doing so.

The company also said it had submitted a revised offer of its business plan for the next 10 years to aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; editing by Kate Holton)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gatwick-profit-edges-routes-china-russia-064453517.html

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Pakistani Judge Injured in Blast, 4 Killed (Voice Of America)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/315258684?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Recollections from hundreds of executions in Texas (Providence Journal)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/315465048?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Havok's Completely Free 3D Engine For Mobile Game Developers Is Now Available

Hey, aspiring game developers! Listen up. Way back in March, we outlined Project Anarchy, a new 3D engine from Havok (the same people that built the engine behind some of the world's biggest games, from Assassin's Creed to Halo 4) that would be completely free to mobile game developers. At the time, the only target they'd give for when it'd be available was "sometime this spring". Well, Project Anarchy has just gone live. It's a few days outside of Spring in the northern hemisphere ? but hey, I'll forgive'm. Free game engine!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ClWj_qHCFYY/

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Introducing the Blog on Math Blogs

A visualization of the twin primes using an Ulam spiral. Created by Silveira Neto and shared under a Creative Commons-attribution-share alike license.

I?m pleased to introduce a new American Mathematical Society blog: the Blog on Math Blogs! Over there, my co-editor Brie Finegold and I are featuring posts from around the math blogosphere to help you keep up with math news and find new math blogs to follow.

We?ve been around for about two months now, and so far we?ve featured:

The Mathematics of Planet Earth blog, which provides a post a day about celestial mechanics, network theory, climate change, and mathematical approaches to understanding our planet.

Win at Math!, a roundup of some fun math games for procrastination very important educational purposes.

Binary Bonsai and Other Mathematical ?Plants,? about a nice knitting/botany/mathematics blog.

Building the World Digital Mathematical Library, an effort to determine the best way to make mathematics papers available online.

This Week in Number Theory, a roundup of blog coverage of two big results about prime numbers: Yitang Zhang?s progress towards the twin primes conjecture, and Harald Helfgott?s proof of the ternary Goldbach conjecture.

On Pregnancy and Probability, a look at Kate Owens?s recent posts about being a pregnant mathematician.

The mathematics-related events and panels at the?World Science Festival.

Celebrating the Grandmothers of STEM, about Rachel Levy?s collection of stories about older women in all sorts of science careers.

Narrowing the Gap, a follow-up to the twin primes post, about the remarkably quick progress that has been made on improving Zhang?s bound for twin primes.

The Calculus of Poetry (Poetry of Calculus?), about a math poetry blog that shared some related rates poetry.

We?re casting a wide net in terms of blog topics, so we?ll be writing about research, teaching, links between math and art, applied math, and who knows what else. If that?s the kind of thing you might like, bookmark the Blog on Math Blogs. You might be interested in checking out some of the other AMS blogs while you?re at it. As an early-career mathematician, I find PhD plus epsilon particularly relevant.

Now I?ve blogged about the blog on math blogs. I hope someone will blog about this blog post. We need to get this thing as fractal as possible!

Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=introducing-the-blog-on-math-blogs

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Judge: Jesus statue can stay on Montana mountain

HELENA, Mont. (AP) ? A Jesus statue that has for six decades been a curiosity to skiers as they cruise down a popular run at a northwest Montana ski resort will not be evicted from federal land, a judge ruled Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen said the Flathead National Forest can re-issue a 10-year permit for the statue installed on the ski hill by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's organization.

The judge disagreed with a Wisconsin-based group of atheists and agnostics that argued the Forest Service was unconstitutionally sanctioning the statue. Its religious nature has been made clear in special-use permit applications since the 1950s, the Freedom From Religion Foundation had argued.

The Forest Service first indicated in 2011 that it would reject a new permit for the statue, which occupies a 25-by-25 foot patch of land at Whitefish Mountain Resort. But the agency reversed itself in 2012 amid public outcry.

Christensen said that the statue does not convey to a reasonable informed observer that the government, rather than a private party, endorses Christianity over any other faith or the absence of faith. The new federal judge, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011, said the statue is one of the last remaining remnants of the original Big Mountain Ski Resort and some locals say it reflects the transition from old timber town to tourist hotspot.

"The statue's secular and irreverent uses far outweigh the few religious uses it has served. The statue is most frequently used as a meeting point for skiers or hikers and a site for photo opportunities, rather than a solemn place for religious reflection," the judge wrote.

"Typical observers of the statue are more interested in giving it a high five or adorning it in ski gear than sitting before it in prayer."

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, which argued the statue violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on Congress making any law regarding an establishment of religion, said it was shocked by the ruling. The group disputed the notion that the Knights of Columbus statue honors veterans, calling it a ruse to place a Catholic shrine on public land.

"Saying it is fine to appropriate federal land to benefit the Knights of Columbus proselytizing efforts would seem to say the government is endorsing religion," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, FFRF co-president.

She said the statue's length of time on the hill does not justify keeping it there, and she argued it makes the constitutional transgression worse. The group said it likely will appeal.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which defended the monument in court, applauded the "commonsense" decision. It argued the statue is a far cry from creating a state religion and not every religious statue runs afoul of the Constitution.

"What we are seeing on the other side is Iconoclasm, the destruction of idols. If they disagree with something religiously, they have to destroy it," said Eric Rassbach, an attorney for the group.

The statue has been maintained by the local Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, since members that included World War II veterans ? inspired by religious monuments they saw while fighting in the mountains of Europe ? erected the monument in 1955. The Knights have never been charged for use of the public land.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-jesus-statue-stay-montana-mountain-143844975.html

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University of Copenhagen excavations in Qatar named World Heritage Site

Public release date: 24-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Professor Alan Walmsley
walmsley@hum.ku.dk
(45) 30-50-70-71
University of Copenhagen

"I am very proud that University of Copenhagen can contribute to inscribing Arabian cultural heritage on the UNESCO World Heritage List. To an archaeologist, Al Zubarah is an extraordinarily challenging and interesting excavation because the Qatari climate demands that we develop new conservation methods to preserve the old city structures," explains Near Eastern Archaeologist and project manager Ingolf Thuesen from the University of Copenhagen.

The Pompeii of the Persian Gulf

Al Zubarah, which was founded in the late 18th century, based its economy on trade between the Asian, African, and European continents as well as pearl fishing. The city had a population of 5,000 citizens, was well-planned and consisted of streets, quarters, market places, palaces, and mosques. It was protected by a mile long city wall with towers.

"In 1811, Al Zubarah was attacked and destroyed by troops loyal to the Sultan of Muscat from what is now known as Oman - and it never recovered. Its buildings and installations were buried under the desert sand, and today it stands as the Gulf's version of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Like Pompeii, the Al Zubarah excavations provide us with unique insights into the period's city planning and social and economic conditions, says Ingolf Thuesen.

Fragile archaelogical remains

One of the challenges of the Al Zubarah excavations is that the building materials used to construct the houses are very fragile. Archaeologists and conservation officers have therefore had to develop new conservation methods to preserve the old building structures. And they have written a 100 page long conservation guide as well as a management plan for the coming Al Zubarah archaeological park.

The Al Zubarah archaeological park, which will be open to the public and offer tours of the site, is expected to open 18 December 2013 when Qatar celebrates its national day.

###

Read more about the Al Zubarah project on the University of Copenhagen website (http://miri.ku.dk/projekts/qiahp/).

UNESCO World Heritage Site

A World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO World Heritage Programme. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity.

The Egyptian pyramids are another example of a World Heritage Site.

---

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?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 24-Jun-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Professor Alan Walmsley
walmsley@hum.ku.dk
(45) 30-50-70-71
University of Copenhagen

"I am very proud that University of Copenhagen can contribute to inscribing Arabian cultural heritage on the UNESCO World Heritage List. To an archaeologist, Al Zubarah is an extraordinarily challenging and interesting excavation because the Qatari climate demands that we develop new conservation methods to preserve the old city structures," explains Near Eastern Archaeologist and project manager Ingolf Thuesen from the University of Copenhagen.

The Pompeii of the Persian Gulf

Al Zubarah, which was founded in the late 18th century, based its economy on trade between the Asian, African, and European continents as well as pearl fishing. The city had a population of 5,000 citizens, was well-planned and consisted of streets, quarters, market places, palaces, and mosques. It was protected by a mile long city wall with towers.

"In 1811, Al Zubarah was attacked and destroyed by troops loyal to the Sultan of Muscat from what is now known as Oman - and it never recovered. Its buildings and installations were buried under the desert sand, and today it stands as the Gulf's version of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Like Pompeii, the Al Zubarah excavations provide us with unique insights into the period's city planning and social and economic conditions, says Ingolf Thuesen.

Fragile archaelogical remains

One of the challenges of the Al Zubarah excavations is that the building materials used to construct the houses are very fragile. Archaeologists and conservation officers have therefore had to develop new conservation methods to preserve the old building structures. And they have written a 100 page long conservation guide as well as a management plan for the coming Al Zubarah archaeological park.

The Al Zubarah archaeological park, which will be open to the public and offer tours of the site, is expected to open 18 December 2013 when Qatar celebrates its national day.

###

Read more about the Al Zubarah project on the University of Copenhagen website (http://miri.ku.dk/projekts/qiahp/).

UNESCO World Heritage Site

A World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO World Heritage Programme. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity.

The Egyptian pyramids are another example of a World Heritage Site.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/uoc-uoc062413.php

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Latest bird flu strain 'kills more than a third'

LONDON (AP) ? More than a third of patients infected with a new strain of bird flu died after being admitted to the hospital earlier this year, Chinese researchers report in a new study.

Since the new H7N9 bird flu first broke out in China in late March, the strain has sickened more than 130 people and killed 37. The World Health Organization has previously described H7N9 as "one of the most lethal influenza viruses" it has ever seen and said it appeared to spread faster than the last bird flu strain, H5N1, that threatened to unleash a pandemic.

After making some adjustments for missing data, the Chinese scientists estimated the overall death rate to be 36 percent. The outbreak was stopped after China closed many of its live animal markets ? scientists had assumed the virus was infecting people through exposure to live birds.

That makes the new strain less deadly than H5N1, which kills about 70 percent of the people it infects. Still, H7N9 is more lethal than the swine flu that caused a 2009 global epidemic. That had a death rate of less than one percent.

The results were released in two papers on the H7N9 strain, published online Monday in the journal Lancet.

"The good news is that numbers of (H7N9) cases have stalled," Cecile Viboud and Lone Simonsen of the U.S. National Institutes of Health wrote in a commentary accompanying the article.

However, they warned that the threat of the virus still "persists" and predicted that the strain might return in the winter, when flu viruses are typically most active.

That assessment echoes the WHO, which earlier this month also warned of the virus adapting.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/latest-bird-flu-strain-kills-more-third-044031270.html

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Prosecutor opens with Zimmerman's obscenity

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) ? A prosecutor began opening statements in George Zimmerman's trial Monday with obscene words the neighborhood watch volunteer whispered under his breath while following 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

"F------ punks," prosecutor John Guy said to six female jurors, quoting Zimmerman from a call he made to a police dispatcher shortly before his fatal confrontation with Martin. "These a-------. They always get away."

Guy told the jurors that Zimmerman profiled Martin "as someone about to commit a crime in his neighborhood."

"And he acted on it. That's why we're here."

Zimmerman followed Martin through his neighborhood, confronted him and then fatally shot him during a fight, Guy said.

"George Zimmerman didn't shoot Trayvon Martin because he had to," Guy said. "He shot him for the worst of all reasons: because he wanted to."

The prosecutor described Zimmerman as someone who wanted to be a police officer, and he dismantled the story Zimmerman has told investigators about what happened during the fight between the neighborhood watch volunteer and the Miami-area teen that left Martin dead from a bullet to his chest.

Zimmerman's claim that Martin had his hands over the neighborhood watch volunteer's mouth is false since none of Zimmerman's DNA was found on Martin's body, Guy said. The prosecutor also said Zimmerman's claim that he had to fire because Martin was reaching for his firearm is false since none of Martin's DNA was on the gun or holster.

Zimmerman is pleading not guilty to second-degree murder, claiming self-defense. His defense attorney was to present his opening statements following those of the prosecution.

On Feb. 26, 2012, Zimmerman spotted Martin, whom he did not recognize, walking in the gated townhome community where Zimmerman and the fiancee of Martin's father lived. There had been a rash of recent break-ins and Zimmerman was wary of strangers walking through the complex.

The two eventually got into a struggle and Zimmerman shot Martin in the chest with his 9mm handgun. He was charged 44 days after the shooting, only after a special prosecutor was appointed to review the case and after protests. The delay in the arrest prompted protests nationwide.

Two police dispatch phone calls will be important evidence for both sides' cases.

The first is a call Zimmerman made to a nonemergency police dispatcher, who told him he didn't need to be following Martin.

The second 911 call captures screams from the confrontation between Zimmerman and Martin. Martin's parents said the screams are from their son while Zimmerman's father contends they belong to his son.

Nelson ruled last weekend that audio experts for the prosecution won't be able to testify that the screams belong to Martin, saying the methods the experts used were unreliable.

___

Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://twitter.com/KHightower

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/prosecutor-opens-zimmermans-obscenity-135419217.html

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U.S. lawmakers slam Russia for abetting Snowden flight

By Paul Eckert and Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers on Sunday said former national security contractor Edward Snowden's reported flight to Russia with a plan to flee onward to Cuba or Venezuela undermined his whistle blower claims and they slammed Moscow for helping a fugitive.

An aircraft thought to be carrying Snowden landed in Moscow on Sunday after Hong Kong let the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor leave the territory, despite Washington's efforts to extradite him to face espionage charges.

According to a source at Russia's Aeroflot airline, Snowden was traveling to Moscow and was planning to go to Venezuela via Cuba.

Democratic U.S. Senator Charles Schumer charged that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely knew and approved of Snowden's flight from Hong Kong to Russia. He said that will "have serious consequences" for a U.S.-Russian relationship already strained over Syria and human rights.

"Putin always seems almost eager to stick a finger in the eye of the United States - whether it is Syria, Iran and now of course with Snowden," Schumer told CNN's "State of the Union," adding that China may have had a role as well.

"It remains to be seen how much influence Beijing had on Hong Kong," Schumer said. "As you know, they coordinate their foreign policies and I have a feeling that the hand of Beijing was involved here."

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said Snowden's reported choice to fly later to Cuba and Venezuela undermines his claim to be a fighter for freedom of information.

"Everyone of those nations is hostile to the United States. I mean, if he could go to North Korea and Iran, he could round out his government oppression tour," the Michigan Republican said on Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" program.

Rogers urged the Obama administration to exhaust all legal options to get Snowden back to the United States. "If he really believes he did something good, he should get on a plane, come back and face the consequences of his actions," he said.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Snowden needed to be caught and brought back for trial as secrets he was carrying could do a lot of damage to U.S. interests.

"I think we need to know exactly what he has," she told CBS's "Face the Nation." "He could have a lot, lot more that may really put people in jeopardy."

Schumer aimed most of his fire at Putin, saying "it is almost certain he know, and likely approved" the flight by Snowden, who had been hiding in Hong Kong since leaking details about U.S. surveillance activities to news media.

"What is infuriating here is," Schumer said, was Putin "aiding and abetting Snowden's escape." The New York lawmaker is the No. 3 Senate Democrat.

The United States has been told by Hong Kong that Snowden has left Hong Kong for "a third country" and Washington will seek cooperation with countries Snowden may try to go to, a Justice Department official said on Sunday.

"We will continue to discuss this matter with Hong Kong and pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel," Justice Department spokeswoman Nanda Chitre said in a statement.

The United States contacted Hong Kong on Saturday seeking Snowden's extradition, Chitre said.

But a second Justice Department official told Reuters "They came back to us late Friday with additional questions and we were in the process of responding."

The U.S. request to Hong Kong authorities "met the requirements of the agreement," the official said.

While many blasted Snowden, Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a member of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and one of the chamber's most conservative members, said, "it's going to be an open question how this young man is judged."

"If he goes to an independent third country like Iceland and if he refuses to talk to any sort of formal government about this, I think there's a chance that he'll be seen as an advocate of privacy."

"If he cozies up to either the Russian government, the Chinese government, or any of these governments that are perceived still as enemies of ours, I think that that will be a real problem for him in history." Paul said in a separate appearance on CNN's "State of the Union."

(Additional reporting by Mark Felsenthal and David Brunnstrom; editing by Jackie Frank)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/u-senator-sees-damaged-relations-russia-over-snowden-142507488.html

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Americans' vitamin D levels are highest in August, lowest in February, study shows

June 22, 2013 ? UC Irvine and Mayo Clinic researchers have found that vitamin D levels in the U.S. population peak in August and bottom out in February. The essential vitamin -- necessary for healthy bones -- is produced in the skin upon exposure to ultraviolet B rays from the sun.

Vitamin D helps bones absorb calcium and can protect against osteoporosis. It's also thought to play a role in seasonal illnesses, such as the flu. Low levels of vitamin D are believed to impair "innate immunity" i.e., the body's first line of defense against pathogens. To further study this link, good estimates of the cyclicality of the vitamin are necessary. Solar exposure -- a timely topic since June 21 marks the first day of summer -- is the most important way people acquire vitamin D. But certain foods, including egg yolks and oil-rich fish like mackerel, salmon, sardines and herring contain the nutrient. In addition, milk and cereal are often enriched with vitamin D.

"Even with food fortification, vitamin D levels in the population show a high level of seasonality due to the influence of sunlight," said Amy Kasahara, a UC Irvine graduate student in public health and first author on the paper, which appears in the journal PLOS ONE.

"The exact biochemical pathways from UVB rays to vitamin D were discovered in the 1970s," she said. "In this study, we have shown that vitamin D levels lag the solar cycle, peaking in August and troughing in February."

The correlation between the seasons and vitamin D has been known for some time. "What we have been able to do is put a lot more precision on the estimates of vitamin D seasonality," said Andrew Noymer, associate professor of public health and senior author of the article.

"Our analysis, combined with other data, will help contribute to understanding the role of vitamin D in all seasonal diseases, where the simple winter/spring/summer/fall categories are not sufficient."

Researchers measured the level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in 3.4 million blood samples collected weekly in the U.S. between July 2006 and December 2011.

The study looked at population averages, so people shouldn't make assumptions about their own levels of vitamin D based on the calendar. Healthcare providers can perform individual blood tests to measure vitamin D directly, and supplements are available for those who cannot or do not receive enough exposure to sunlight.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/M6AgS9aaSR0/130622154600.htm

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PST: Dallas overcomes two-goal deficit, ties KC

With just two points in their last three matches, the season of FC Dallas hung in the balance as they found themselves down 2-0 at home to Sporting KC.

They?d conceded a penalty ? converted by Kei Kamara ? and then an own goal from Je-Vaughn Watson.

Then, striker CJ Sapong was sent off for kicking a soccer ball at a prone Andrew Jacobson ? a bit of a soft sending off ? and the hosts found their opening.

Dallas got two goals in the final three minutes from Jacobson and rookie Walker Zimmerman as they salvaged a point and kept themselves near the top of the Western Conference table, and remain undefeated at home on the season.

The red hurt, and many could argue it should only have been yellow as David Beckham saw years ago for kicking the ball at Sam Cronin.? However, with the referee standing right there, it was still a massive lapse in judgement by Sapong.

A loss would have opened the door for both Real Salt Lake and Portland to pull away at the top, with Dallas set to take on the up and down Philadelphia Union.

It?s the first red card for Sapong in his MLS career, and a real chance goes wasted for Sporting KC who could have drawn with New York Red Bulls for second in the Eastern Conference.? Instead, it?s Houston who hold Toronto to a scoreless draw to leapfrog KC into third.

It?s been a tough go for the for the 24-year-old striker this year.? After 9 goals last year, Sapong has just one score this season in 13 matches ? a garbage-time goal in their 4-0 thrashing of Chivas USA.

Source: http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/22/red-for-sapong-sees-fc-dallas-make-up-2-goal-deficit-late/related/

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